Magical Macomb: Prestidigitation thrives in Central Illinois town

Bill Ford

Tuesday

Oct 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2008 at 5:20 AM

There is magic in George Richbark's wood shop. It is in Clyde Cronkhite's basement and a poster hanging in Dave Dorsett's house. This past week, it was in the Macomb Public Library. Per capita, Macomb likely has more interest in magic than most towns of its size. Much of this is due to Bob Melton.

There is magic in George Richbark's wood shop. It is in Clyde Cronkhite's basement and a poster hanging in Dave Dorsett's house. This past week, it was in the Macomb Public Library. Per capita, Macomb likely has more interest in magic than most towns of its size. Much of this is due to Bob Melton.

The only place for magic

George Richbark remembers well his many trips to Bob Melton's toy store when he was a kid.

"He advertised it as the Midwest's Largest Toystore," Richbark said. "I don't think that was bombast. This was in the day before we had Wal-Mart or K-Mart."

In the basement of the store, Melton had a special section of interest for the kids.

"If you went down the steps, turned to your left and went straight back into the corner, Bob Melton was usually hiding back behind there," Dave Dorsett said. "It was full of magic tricks."

Melton would hold weekly performances in the magic section of his store, giving the kids a personal view of what the tricks he sold looked like.

"Every Friday we were open and the kids knew it and the parents knew it," said Melton's wife, Sue. "We'd all gather up in that corner and he'd do the magic tricks. He did all kinds of interesting things and the kids loved it."

They loved it so much, in fact, they became obsessed with it. Richbark and Dorsett both credit Melton and his magic counter with sparking an interest in starting eventual careers in magic.

"There is an odd genetic defect in people who are interested in magic," Dorsett said. "When you get down there and start looking at that stuff, it kind of gets in your blood stream like an infection. I would never have gotten into the magic building business if we hadn't gone down there."

"The first thing that caught your eye was the three posters," Dorsett said. "Right in the center was a poster for Howard Thurston, one of the most famous magicians from the 1920 and 30s. We never knew it, but that was an original poster."

After the store closed, Dorsett said he offered to buy the Thurston poster from Melton, but Melton never agreed. After Melton's death, Dorsett said Melton's son paid him a visit. The younger Melton said he had found some pieces in his basement from his father's store and one piece in particular had survived water damage, and he wondered if Dorsett would be interested in it.

"He brought it to me and it was the Thurston poster," Dorsett said. "I about had a heart attack. It's a treasured piece."

Dorsett had the poster restored and he now keeps it in his home.

"It's worth a fairly substantial amount of money," Dorsett said. "But no one will get their hands on it as long as I'm around."

Building magic in Macomb

Richbark and Dorsett both lost some of their interest in Magic as they grew up and started jobs.
It was only a matter of time, though, before that interest resurfaced.

Richbark was working as an electrical technician in Aurora in the early 90s when he got a request from Dorsett to build him a magic prop.

"My hobby was woodworking and Dave was wanting me to build things for him," Richbark said. "We had hooked up with a company in Texas that had been building magic and they had some things they wanted us to build."

Richbark said the two continued to build things for the company before he realized the magic building was taking up a great deal of his time.

"Suddenly I had two jobs," Richbark said. "I needed to quit one, so I ended up selling my house and quitting my job to move back here and start a business with Dave."

Thus, Douglas Wayne Illusioneering was born on Calhoun Street in Macomb. Dorsett and Richbark built and restored magic props for magicians and collectors all over the world.
Some of their clientele included David Copperfield and Penn and Teller.

They also restored magic props for one of the world's largest magic collectors, Ken Klosterman.
Dorsett said one of their stranger projects involved cutting a section of concrete out of a basement in Monmouth that featured the handprints of "The Great Nicoli," who was a magician that lived in Monmouth in the 1930s.

Douglas Wayne Illusioneering shut down in 1997. Dorsett said magic building was such a niche market that it is tough to compete outside the top five companies in the world.

"The actual bricks and mortar magic shop is a dying breed. The internet is killing it," Dorsett said. "You can't really operate a magic shop outside of a big city."

But Dorsett said he still builds and sells pieces online periodically. Richbark does too. In fact, Richbark routinely sells illusions on ebay and through his own web site www.richbark.com.
In his shop just off Normal Street in Macomb, Richbark manufactures props for tricks such as a head-chopper and a modern art chest. Modern art is a trick in which a magician cuts an assistant in half.

Richbark said building magic trick keeps him involved in a hobby he really enjoys.

"I was never very good at performing magic I'm a drummer in an Elvis band. That is the only time I get on stage," Richbark said. "I like to say that my performances are in the shop."
Richbark said the props themselves are what make some of the tricks work.

If they don't work efficiently, they can make the magician look bad.
Richbark said he build an impalement illusion for one magician and the magician had It work perfectly for more than 700 performances.

"It's got to be reliable every time," Richbark said. "To hear that an illusion that complicated has worked for 700 shows is pretty gratifying."

Macomb's magicians

The final week of October is commonly known to magicians as magic week.

One reason for this is because of its proximity to Halloween. Another is because it coincides with Harry Houdini's death on Oct. 31, 1929.

Every day this week in Macomb, the library will host magic performances from some local magicians.

Yes, Macomb, in fact, has several magicians.

"There are a few of us hidden, tucked away," Said WIU professor and magician Joe Dobson. "Probably about seven or eight people in town who are very much into magic or have some connections to magic."

Dobson, one of the performers at the library, said he became interested in magic at a young age and used it as an escape while attending college at Washington University in St. Louis.
Dobson said he periodically does magic shows in which he does tricks involving playing cards and slight of hand.

"I don't really do magic for kids. I do magic for adults," Dobson said. "One show I do is a gambling routine with magic involve. I teach people how to cheat at cards."

Dobson said other magicians in town include fellow WIU professors Clyde Cronkhite and Larry Welch.

Dobson and Richbark both described a dinner magic show Cronkhite puts on I his basement.
Dobson said he is a member of the Quad Cities Magic Club and he regularly attends the clubs meetings.

At the meetings, magicians from all over the greater Quad Cities area gather to practice tricks.
"It gives some of the people good practice performing in front of a crowd, but it also gives some people a chance to try some things out that they don't want to perform in front of a paying audience until they have worked it a few times," Dobson said.

Overall, Dobson said he is hoping his performances at the library will help cultivate some more interest in magic.

"Magic week is a time to get people interested in magic as a hobby. It's a great way to develop you mind and your creativity," Dobson said.

Macomb Journal

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.